In this interview, I chat with Bruce Holsinger about Culpability, why his publishing date moved up by three months (now we know it's an Oprah pick!), the research he conducted for this one, P(doom) numbers, his stunning cover, and much more.
Bruce's recommended reads are:
- Dream State by Eric Puchner
- Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte
- Trust by Hernan Diaz
- Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner
- Small Rain by Garth Greenwell
Looking for some great summer reads? Check out my printable 18-page Summer Reading Guide here for a tip of your choice or for a set price here via credit card with over 60 new titles vetted by me that will provide great entertainment this summer - books you will not see on other guides. I also include mystery series recommendations, new releases in a next-in-the-series section and fiction and nonfiction pairings.
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Want to know which new titles are publishing in June - October of 2025? Check out our fourth Literary Lookbook which contains a comprehensive but not exhaustive list all in one place so you can plan ahead.
Culpability can be purchased at my Bookshop storefront.
Looking for something new to read? Here is my monthly Buzz Reads column with five new recommendations each month.
Link to my article about older protagonists in fiction.
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Bruce Holsinger
Bruce Holsinger is the author of four novels, including The Displacements and The Gifted School, and many works of nonfiction, most recently On Parchment: Animals, Archives, and the Making of Culture from Herodotus to the Digital Age (Yale University Press). His books have been recognized with the Colorado Book Award, the John Hurt Fisher Prize, the Philip Brett Award, the John Nicholas Brown Prize, the Modern Language Association’s Prize for a First Book, and others. His essays and reviews have appeared in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, and many other publications, and he has been profiled on NPR’s Weekend Edition, Here & Now, and Marketplace. He is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship.
Holsinger teaches in the department of English at the University of Virginia, where he specializes in medieval literature and modern critical thought and serves as editor of the quarterly journal New Literary History. He also teaches craft classes and serves as board chairman for WriterHouse, a local nonprofit in Charlottesville.
